Tithing
Tithing could be considered "High Summer" in the Cage. As on most Prime worlds, this period is the hottest time of the year. However, in Sigil, this heat has nothing to do with the weather. Rather, it has everything to do with the degree of danger to a sod's belongings, body, and soul. Most of the Cage spent the previous month of Narciss deciding what they wanted out of life; they now spend all of Tithing trying to get it. The City of Doors is best described by the oft misquoted credo of The Fated: "Every berk for himself." A canny basher tends not to trust any member of the Fated during Tithing, as the Heartless are significantly more persistent during this month in achieving their goals. This month is one of the few, rare times that members of this faction will willingly work together, occasionally on projects that benefit the faction as a whole, rather than themselves. (In fact, the faction obtained their current headquarters, the Hall of Records, during this month as a result of such combined efforts.) In addition to the efforts of the established members of the faction, Tithing also sees a sharp increase in the number of beings attempting to become members of the Fated. Most of these are only of namer quality, encouraged to join by the rapacious atmosphere of the Cage during this month. However, past history has shown that those few who are worthy of the higher ranks are most often of exceptional quality. Factol Darkwood pays close attention to these recruits. After all, he joined in Tithing and might not a potential protege (or rival) appear during this time? The rest of the Cage tends to take on a "what's in it for me" attitude during Tithing. Nearly all prices increase during the month and most merchants tend to drive much harder bargains. The gaming houses try to make up for lost profits by tightening the odds and fixing more games than they normally would. However, all is not hopeless. These gaming houses also tend to be more forgiving when it comes to cheaters during Tithing; after all, if someone could outfox a house on its guard, it deserves what it got. ("It's all right boys. He cheated us fair and square.") This month also sees a rather frightening influx in the number of fiends coming to Sigil. The baatezu are returning after lying low for Retributus; the tanar'ri are returning en masse with a vengeance after the air of hated lawfulness has finally lifted from the Cage. In addition to the expected rise in the number of brawls between fiends, the City of Doors also sees a rise in recruiting for the Blood War. The fiends are trying to take foolish berks as fodder, while many mercenaries are trying to make that one big score and retire like kings. With all the deals and promises, it's said that Tithing is the month to get the best contracts with fiendish employers. Events Factol's Day of Tithing is a rather tense day in Sigil. Unlike most of the other factions, the leader of the Fated does not have a celebration held in his honor. This is because, as any Taker will tell you, even though one person deserves to have more than most people, that doesn't give him the right to flaunt it. Instead, the Factols of the Heartless have made their Day something of a culling within the Faction. Each Fated who lives in Sigil is expected to use these twenty-four hours to obtain something they feel they deserve. At the start of the day, the factioneers give a sealed scroll with their personal goal to the faction's record keepers. Once the scroll is submitted, the Fated is then expected to spend the whole of the day working to obtain whatever it is he has written down. When the day ends, the scrolls are opened and use to prove how successful - or not - each member was. Those who succeed are looked upon more favorably, and often have an easier time of things in the faction - at least, for the rest of Tithing they do. Those who fail to achieve their stated goals, while not thrown out of the faction, are viewed with derision. This bad feeling usually lasts far past the end of the month. However, one should not make the mistake of assuming that the Heartless are not equally ambitious throughout the rest of the month as well. The fifth month of the Sigilian Calendar sees the second highest number of celebrations and public events during the year. All of these are based around some form of competition, usually sports-related. After all, with so many people trying to obtain their goals during Tithing, some are going to end up going for the same prize. The Guvners have decided to make things safer in Sigil by sanctioning as many official competitions as they can think of to allow for a legal, and controllable, means of resolving such conflicts. A sod can find any kind of contest to compete in that he can think of: beauty pageants, gambling tournaments, gladiatorial combats, etc. In fact, this is the one month where many illegal activities become legal for the sake of a contest. Of course, winning in one of those games is a two-edged sword; the victor is marked by the Harmonium as a trouble-maker and is usually arrested as soon as the month is over. Besides the Hardheads, there is a darker side to all of these contests. In keeping with the general atmosphere of the month, a group of erinyes and succubi set aside their racial hatred and hold their own contest. These fiends attempt to seduce as many souls as possible over the course of Tithing. The victorious group then claims the right to stalk the brothels of the Cage in the following month. The powers which like to make noise during this month are those who stress Individualism and Self-Reliance. Of course, more than one Power of Greed or Luck likes to have its devotees show off during this month as well.